During the night, around 1 o’clock, a heavy storm’s intensive thunders awakened all sleepers. As the rain driven by the fresh wind was entering into the cabins through the hatches, the command rang out „Close the hatches!“. In the early morning, a blue sky was smiling down on us — an hour later, rain poured down out of the sea of clouds. The sea always remained calm during these changing weather conditions.

At noon we were in the Strait of Sapudi between Madura and Sapudi island. In the distance, one can see the volcano Baloeran of 1290 m on the East coast of Java, situated in the  district Panarukan in the regency Besuki. We sent our last greeting to Java to this fire mountain as we now directed our course towards Lombok island.

During the voyage in the high sea many snakes were visible. For the first time I too saw „sea snakes“, namely a totally white specimen more than a meter long, as well as one in black and yellow stripes.

The sight towards Lombok and the island to the west of it, Bali, both part of the Timor group, was unfortunately obscured by fog and clouds. But then Bali and Agoeng mountain (3200 m) at least appeared if only for a moment. In the evening a gorgeous moon shine finally delighted us again so that the sight was very impressive when we came close to the island of Lombok. Yulcan Rindjani, which attains the considerable altitude of 3800 m, rises almost vertically out of the sea and grants a monumental view. At first its peak was obscured by thick clouds but then this veil parted suddenly and the mountain giant was in front of us, illuminated by the silver moon shine. As we were only a few miles distant from the coast, we could exactly see the contours of the mountain with the naked „unarmed“ eye.

The islands of Bali and Lombok form their own independent residency. The pacification of Lombok requires a lot of money and troops for the Dutch as this rough partly Brahminist partly Mohammedan population under the leadership of the raja, a Balinese, is offering tough resistance. The doggedness of the resistance is attested by the report shortly prior to our departure from Java that an engagement on Lombok a few days earlier had resulted in the death of one officer and a number of soldiers of the colonial forces, while on one of the cannon boats that participated in that action one of the naval officers was grievously wounded.

Links

• Location: near Lombok
• ANNO – on 29.04.1893 in Austria’s newspapers. Busy preparations are under way in Lucerne, Switzerland, for the upcoming visit of the German Emperor on his return from Italy.
• The k.u.k. Hof-Burgtheater is playing the comedy „Das Heiratsnest“, while the k.u.k. Hof-Operntheater is performing the ballet “Die goldene Märchenwelt”.